Redskins Sign Jay Gruden To Multi-Year Contract Extension

The Redskins have signed head coach Jay Gruden to a multi-year contract extension. Gruden recently completed his third season in Washington and has led the Redskins to back-to-back winning seasons.

The Redskins have signed head coach Jay Gruden to a multi-year contract extension. Gruden recently completed his third season in Washington and has led the Redskins to back-to-back winning seasons.

When Jay Gruden was hired to be the 29th head coach in the history of the Washington Redskins, he preached an organization-wide effort to be a consistent winner.

“This is about a commitment to being a consistently great franchise and we want to provide everybody with the proud sense that we’re going to come to work every day and do the best we can to put a competitive football team on the field every day,” Gruden said during his introductory press conference on Jan. 9, 2014.

After three seasons of helping get the organization moving forward, the Redskins announced on Monday that they have signed Gruden to a multi-year extension, allowing him the path to continue to help build Washington into an annual contender. Full terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Over the last two seasons, the Redskins have collected a 17-14-1 regular season record along with another NFC East title in 2015.

The back-to-back winning seasons are also the first since the 1996-97 seasons when the Redskins also went 17-14-1 during that span.

Despite coming off a 4-12 season in 2014, the Redskins experienced a breakthrough season in 2015, as Gruden led the team to a 9-7 record. Washington had a 5-7 record entering the final quarter of the season, but registered four consecutive victories including a 38-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 26, to win the division.

Gruden became the sixth coach in team history to lead the Redskins to a playoff berth within the first two years at the helm, joining Ray Flaherty, Dutch Bergman, Dudley DeGroot, George Allen and Joe Gibbs.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins and tight end Jordan Reed both experienced breakout seasons on the offensive side of the football, while linebacker Preston Smith tallied a league-high 8.5 sacks among rookies.

In 2016, Washington had five players named to the Pro Bowl under Gruden’s guidance, as Cousins, Reed and guard Brandon Scherff all earned selections for the first time in their careers while linebacker Ryan Kerrigan got his second career nod and tackle Trent Williams was named to his fifth Pro Bowl in a row.

During the season, the Redskins gained a team-record 6,454 yards and averaged more than 400 offensive yards per game for the first time in franchise history. The third-place finish in total offense also represented Washington’s highest ranking in the category since 1999. Eight different players also finished the season with at least 500 yards from scrimmage, tying the 2011 New Orleans Saints for the most in a single season in NFL history.

Cousins earned his second career NFC Offensive Player of the Month honor – most in franchise history – while kicker Dustin Hopkins earned his first NFC Special Teams Player of the Month honor in September.

Returner Jamison Crowder also was selected as NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 5 and rookies Su’a Cravens and Robert Kelley earned weekly awards voted on by the fans.

Kerrigan, meanwhile, has recorded 34 of his 58.5 career sacks while Gruden has been head coach. His is currently third in franchise history in career sacks, trailing only Dexter Manley and Charles Mann.

Gruden is currently tied with Bill McPeak for the eighth most teams by a head coach in franchise history.

Gruden told Redskins.com in December that his goal while remaining in Washington is to help the players grow, both on the field and away from it.

“Well, you want to try to do the best you can and try to develop good people in here so that when these guys leave football, maybe they’re just a little bit better of a person,” Gruden said. “That’s easier said than done, but you try to do that. Ultimately it’s about winning.”